Varocles will cast detect magic and scan the room for auras.
Cyrene enters on light feet and immediately focuses on the other exit, leaving the exploring of the room itself to the rest of the group.
"Well, this brings back memories of the keep." She is mostly silent, as she doesn't know who or what is nearby. Anyone making excess noise, she will motion to be more silent. There is a table nearby with alchemical ingredients, which she quickly tries to identify, as well as their mysterious liquids.
Once done, she will check the other doorway(s?) for traps.
Waiting in the behind, waiting for the signal to enter. He didn’t want to give them away with the sound of his armor.
The doors at the far end of the room radiate strong necromancy.
The alchemical ingredients seem to be for making alchemist's fires and acid flasks and the like. The 1st cauldron i.e. the one I put you next to is unrecognizable while the other cauldron seems to be troll stypic.
"Be careful of those doors, they radiate some strong necromancy. Should we find out what is behind them you think?"
"Ooo..troll stypic. This is worth a lot, and may come in use."
As quickly and safely as possible, she will scoop some of it into vials if there are some available (to a max of 10). She steers clear of the other cauldron and stows what she has taken safely.
Hearing Varocles, she nods and first will scout the north wall to make sure there is no way a wall is going to raise and they are going to be attacked by whatever animals are in the room to their north. Assuming things are fine, she will make her way to the eastern "trapped" door and will study it for some time to see what is causing the magical effect.
Aikaterine determines that the north wall is not one that can be raised and that the locked eastern door's trap is set off upon being opened without the key.
Aikaterine groans to herself quietly as she identifies the trap's trigger mechanism. She informs the party and will make doubly sure there is no spare key hidden in the room, as she's sure the one Cyrene tracked here holds tight to the main one.
"If I die...let it be known that I've lived life and don't regret a second of it. Say a prayer for me, as this may very well kill me if I ruin it."
With that she will attempt to disengage the magical trap from the lock on the door.
If successful, she will quietly try to unlock the door.
For a moment Aika almost makes a mistake but she catches herself right before she does so and thus saves her own well being. The trap is disabled but the actual lock gives her some trouble before she eventually gets it unlocked.
"Well done. You probably didn't need any prayers."
"Thanks," she whispers back, "They likely know we are here with all my fumbling with that lock though. Be ready. It is unlocked."
Aika doesn't want to be first through the doorway, but will at least open the door to peer inside to see if there are any threats, like a mage with a fireball spell being readied to cast. Better on her than anyone else.
Cyrene stands well back, maximising her line of sight so that if it comes down to a race between her and a mage with a fireball, then at least she can just shoot straight.
Amphitryon nodded and formed a spear in his hand. He was ready.
Opening the door you are treated to the sight of what looks to be a cavern. The stone steps lead a few feet down into the unlit cavern. You can hear the sound of water dripping down from the ceiling.
At the darkness ahead, Aikaterine will cast a dancing lights spell and set the orbs ahead of them so that she can remain in the shadows, yet reveal the light some 30 feet out from them and some feet upward. Those with darkvision could rely on their vision behind them and her and those with low-light could see all before them as though it were daytime. With the swift movement speed of the spell, Aikaterine also would zoom the lights upward to the roof of the cavern occasionally to ensure nothing was about to drop down upon them. She then would return the lights to their original placing. She also attempts to understand the structure and integrity of the area they are heading into.
She will creep a bit ahead of the group to ensure that the pathway is safe.
The twisting corridor opens into a large cavern filled with large, glistening stalactites and stalagmites. Puddles of brackish water dot the floor, and while the sound of rushing water seems to be close by, the source is not in this room. As Aika steps into the cavern she immediately notices a pair of giant bats hanging from the ceiling.
These magical beasts are known as doombats, though far more healthy(i.e. HD) than the ones you have read about. Every 5 above you may ask an additional question.
Aikaterine will move the light about the bats to highlight them for the party, but as she spied them first, she quickly arcs out a violent spray of acid from her repertoire of spells along with her unique alchemical ingredients. Combined, they create a devastating effect. It should be quiet and not illuminate far greater than her dancing light spell. She then will slink back into the group.
She contemplates the foe that they are facing and what abilities it may have. She then will call them out to her allies.
"I think these are doombats. I'm not sure what they can do though, but they are violent."
Kyronai attempts to keep the bat that Aikaterine is not attacking roosting with a slumber hex.
Aika adjusts her position slightly and blasts the closest bat singing the creature's wings with acid.
Doombats have no inherent resistances or immunities. You do know that they constantly yip while in combat which interferes with an opponents abilities to focus on difficult tasks. Spellcasters within 100 ft. of a yipping doombat must succeed on a concentration check (DC 15 + spell’s level) anytime they attempt to cast a spell. The effect of several doombats yipping at once is not cumulative. This effect will come into effect as soon as one of them acts. Also they can emit a emit a piercing shriek every so often. All creatures that can hear the doombat's shriek other than other doombats must make a Will save or be shaken for a few rounds. Successive shrieks do not stack with each other but do extend the duration of the effect. A creature that successfully saves is immune to the same doombat’s shriek for 24 hours. Also you know that they typically attack with both their fangs and their barbed tails while in combat. Much like their mundane cousins, they are very good fliers with blindsense and darkvision.
Red-26
With a foe before him that could bleed, Amphitryon threw his spear at the creatures. It was a long distance, but he figured that it was worth a shot. Once thrown, he closed his hand around a new spear which formed where the old one once was.
The bat resists the witch's hex but does not resist the spear throw.
Red has awaken from its slumber and drifts from it's perch closer to Amphitryon and bites at him followed by a swipe with its barbed tail!
Red-43, Amphitryon-27
Cyrene sets to work filling the bats full of arrows.
Cyrene lands an arrow on her target. The bat yet to act will stay where it is and lets out a shriek!
Red-55, Amphitryon-27
Varocles casts cure serious wounds and he moves forward, touches Amph, and returns to his spot.
Amphitryon raised his spear to throw it...and was taken completely by surprise by the bat's shriek. Startled, he let the spear go and it vanished into thin air. With a grimace born out of embarrassment, he formed a new one in his hand, and used it to stab out at the bat which was biting him. As always, he was thankful for Varocles being there to keep his blood where it belonged: inside his body.
Kyronai had heard doombats could shriek, but being in the back of the group unable to advance into the room or even see the bats left him unprepared for it.
He reapplies his ward hex on his brother.
Shaken: 5/5
Cyrene winces as her sensitive ears are assailed by the noise.
+2 vs poisons, spells, SLAs
Aikaterine's slender and beautiful elven ears are met with the most hideous of screeches. She visibly cringes a full few seconds before those with less keen senses begin to hear the sound. It seems as though it is affecting her quite severely.
Quickly, before she's overcome, a scroll is pulled out and she chants the required sounds and words. As she does, the words on the scroll vanish, being consumed and a flaming dragon's head begins to form on the edge of her hand. The mouth of the dragon opens as her spell is completed, and from it is a stream of fire that arcs out to scorch the bat!
Varocles with his tidal wave of resolve heals Amphitryon without fear. Amphitryon also feels no fear or perhaps it is overconfidence as he misses with both his strikes. Kyronai puts a defensive ward with a shaky hand on his brother. Cyrene and Aika both are surprised by the sudden shriek and feels their resolve bending a bit, though the latter does not let herself impede her spellcasting and lands a powerful bolt of pure fire lighting up the cavern sending it straight at her target!
The closer bat attempts to bite down on the heavily armored Amphitryon.
Followed by a slash with it's tail.
Though its many wounds stop it from landing a blow.
Red-70, Amphitryon-4, Kyronai-Shaken(5), Aika-Shaken(5), Cyrene-Shaken(5)
Having cleared her sight-line, Cyrene starts shooting, trying to compensate for the ringing in her ears which makes her aim jittery.
Cyrene lands her first arrow but her second flies wide. The other bat flies forward and gnashes its mighty jaws at Amphitryon.
But it only finds dense armor.
Red-80, Amphitryon-4, Kyronai-Shaken(5), Aika-Shaken(5), Cyrene-Shaken(4)
"I'm not certain I can pull that off again!" she thinks to herself. Seeing Cyrene hindered, she wonders at her a moment before quickly casting an acidic spell at the beast. She empowers it with her alchemical goods and her focus of empowering it before it is unleashed.
The sound, however, pierces her ears and makes her lose focus. The spell fails and she shivers as the magic courses through her hand, singeing her skin with green.
With the bats swarming him, Amphitryon was unable to make proper use of his spear. All he could do was flail about, using spear and shield to try and push them away so that they could be put into proper stabbing distance.
Varocles casts remove fear on both Cyrene and Aikaterine.
Aika is unable to cast her spell and Amphitryon has similar luck with his strikes.
Varocles is able to cast his spell successfully however and removes the despair and fear from the female party members.
Kyronai pulls out his trusty wand of magic missile, which fires two missiles (that are magic) at the bat he can partially see.
Kyronai fires off a pair of force projectiles and unerringly hits his target. The heavily wounded but still flapping bat tries to rip Amphitryon apart.
Red-80, Amphitryon-4, Kyronai-Shaken(4), Blue-6
With Varocles steadying her aim Cyrene tries to finish off the wounded bat.
Cyrene lands her shot and finishes off the wounded beast! The remaining bat continues to harry/mildly annoy Amphitryon.
The status quo is maintained.
Amphitryon-4, Kyronai-Shaken(4), Blue-6
"It's strange they linger!" she comments quietly, but with force. "Injured like this, usually animals, even large ones, flee. I wonder if it's trained?"
She winces again as the pain of each screech reaches her sensitive ears. Regardless, she attempts once more to launch a spell of acid orb at the bat.
"Well, it keeps trying to get in my hair!" Amphitoryon said, as he shoved the bat away and then slashed at it with his spear. "If it is trained, then it's master did a fine job."
IF he can see it, Kyronai fires another couple magic missiles at the persistent bat.
"If the person Cyrene tracked to here came this way, then it must be trained to some extent. Remember that they had also trained bears to attack us."
"He came here." Cyrene says calmly as she shoots on. "He may have left again though."
The constant yipping aches Aika's ears as she fumbles another spellcast. Amphitryon is a bit luckier as he lands a single blow on the beast as Kyronai fires off his wand that cannot fail. Cyrene lands another volley of arrows!
Blue-45, Amphitryon-4
Seeing an opening, Varocles moves forward and attacks the remaining enemy...